Will McLelland-Imagn Images

Kalen DeBoer Breaks Silence on Jaylen Mbakwe's Transfer Portal Decision

Originally posted on Athlon Sports
By Kevin Matthew Borba | Last updated Dec 18, 2024 11:37 PM ET

The Alabama Crimson Tide were absolutely blindsided by a decision made earlier this week by five-star freshman corner Jaylen Mbakwe.

After murmurs of a seven-figure offer and a possible role on offense on the table from another program, Mbakwe was in the portal hours later. This led to pure confusion and some fear from Alabama fans, as they not only lost a five-star talent, but concerns over how it would affect star receiver Ryan Williams surfaced.

However, Mbakwe wasn't in the portal for long as just one day after his departure from the program, it was announced that he was returning. Something that Kalen DeBoer talked about on Wednesday when speaking to the media.

“His conversation with me was that he wanted to come back," DeBoer said via On3. "It’s not that complicated. The kid loves this place.”

In terms of him playing offense DeBoer did seem open to it, especially when you consider how short-staffed they are at receiver ahead of the ReliaQuest Bowl.

“We certainly are short there at wide receiver with injuries and some guys that entered the portal,” DeBoer said via On3. “So yeah, it’s always been that we’ve been open to what he can bring to the table. I think as a freshman coming in, you’re really trying to focus on doing one thing well. But this is certainly a time where we can look into that and figure that out.”

While Alabama is happy that he's back, the Mbakwe saga will become more of a commonality across the country.

This article first appeared on Athlon Sports and was syndicated with permission.

More must-reads: